With the increased availability of high speed Internet connections, many devices have the ability to connect to remote services or sources. In addition, as the cost of high speed Internet connections decreases, many users may maintain a constant or near constant connection to the Internet. Furthermore, as wireless communications systems expand, users can connect to remote sources at many different locations, including far from the user's work, home or other areas where the user typically can access the Internet. For example, wireless communications networks have expanded to the point where a device can connect to the Internet on a mountaintop in nature (e.g., while skiing or hiking).
Because of the enhanced ability of devices to connect to the Internet as a user moves or travels, a user can make an increased use of remote storage. In particular, a user can store information in one or more remote locations, while knowing that the information can remain accessible so long as the user has an Internet connection available. This can allow a user to expand the amount of storage available to the user beyond the actual storage within the device (e.g., the storage of a hard drive or solid state drive in a device).
A device can connect to any suitable remote storage source to store or access content including, for example, using one or more cloud storage solutions. A cloud storage solution can typically include one or more racks of storage devices geographically located in one or more locations and connected to each other and to the Internet. The storage devices can be managed by a system administrator, who can perform various tasks to ensure that the cloud operates properly. In particular, a system administrator can define and set profiles for different devices, perform periodic checks, replace or maintain devices, and in some cases manage some or all of the data stored in the cloud. While such cloud storage may be of use to a user, it may also come at a cost. In particular, the cloud provider can charge a monthly or other recurring fee in exchange for use of the cloud storage (and the recurring fees can be charged whether or not the user is using the storage). In addition, the cost of operating a cloud storage system can include not only material costs (e.g., storage devices) but also network administration costs. In particular, each time a new device is added to the cloud, or each time a device is removed from the cloud, administrative action may be required to configure the new device or migrate data, services, or both among remaining devices of the cloud. This can require both time and administrator resources.